Groupon Inc. Beats Q4 Views; Outlook Hurt By Currency Exchange

Groupon Inc.

beat fourth-quarter earnings but offered an outlook below the consensus, citing foreign exchange woes. The Chicago-based e-commerce marketplace company changed hands recently at $7.41, off $0.05 cents. Groupon completed "a transformational year" in 2014, according to Chief Executive Eric P. Lefkofsky. "We now turn our attention to further building out our marketplace," Lefkofsky said in a statement. Groupon predicted first-quarter adjusted profits between $0.00 and $0.02 cents a share, on revenue of between $790 million and $840 million. Wall Street expects adjusted earnings of $0.03 cents a share, on revenue of $856.14 million. The company said a stronger dollar will lower its first-quarter revenue growth by 500 basis points. In the recent fourth quarter, gross billings increased 31 percent to $2.1 billion, while revenue, excluding the impact of foreign exchange, grew 25 percent. Groupon swung to a fourth-quarter net profit of $8.79 million, or $0.01 cent a share, from a year-earlier loss of $81.25 million, or $0.12 cents a share. Adjusted earnings for the recent period equaled $0.06 cents a share, while revenue grew to $925.42 million, from $768.45 million a year earlier. Wall Street expected adjusted profit of $0.03 cents a share, on revenue of $908.38 million.